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Since the emergence of a coronavirus disease (2019-nCoV) in December 2019, the whole world is in a state of chaos. Isolation strategy with quarantine is a useful model in controlling transmission and rapid spread. As a result, people remained at home and disrupted their outside daily activities. It led to the closure of educational institutes, which is a source of many students to cope with numerous personal and familial issues. This study aims to focus on exploring the relationships and potential mediational pathways between mental health problems, illness perception, anxiety and depression disorders.

The study incorporated snowball sampling techniques through a cross-sectional, Web-based survey and recruited 500 students from different universities of twin cities, Rawalpindi and Islamabad from March 23 to April 15, 2020, during the coronavirus outbreak lockdown. The study used four instruments, Beck Depression Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire and The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale for assessing depression, anxiety, illness perception and mental health disorders.

The findings indicated normal (43.2%), mild (20.5%), moderate (13.6%) and severe (22.7%) levels of anxiety prevalence in students. Results specified a normal (65.9%), mild (9.10%), moderate (9.12%) and severe (15.90%) depression prevalence and findings stipulated that anxiety disorder prevalence was higher than depression disorder. The correlational results specified a negative and significant relationship between mental health, illness perception, anxiety and depression symptoms. The multiple regression analysis stated that anxiety and depression disorders mediated the relationship between mental health and present illness perception. The perception of illness exhibited a relation to depression and anxiety disorders.

The study proposed a model to address mental health problems during the lockdown. The (2019-nCoV) illness perception developed mental disorders, including anxiety and depression, which has declined individuals’ mental health. There is an urgent need for ongoing clinical examination and management to address psychological disorders and findings suggest assessing mental health to combatting the pandemic worldwide. Findings recommend developing strategies to promote mental health-care facilities during COVID-19 wide-ranging disasters. These results highlight the impending importance of devising strategies to treat mental health problems.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of private and public sector managers in Barbados regarding the concepts of mental health and illness at work. It also explored their interactions and experiences with persons with mental illness at work and various forms of support and resources needed to improve the overall management of these persons within the organisational setting.

This qualitative study used an exploratory research design based on two focus groups of private and public sector managers.

The findings revealed that both private and public sector managers understood the distinction between the concepts of mental health and mental illness. However, managers believed that high levels of stigma and discrimination exist in both private and public sector workplaces due to a lack of understanding of mental illness, cultural norms, and socialisation in Barbados regarding mental illness and negative stereotypes. However, workplace education and promotion, associated workplace policies, and employee assistance programmes (EAPs) were identified as key strategies for effectively addressing issues of mental health stigma and the management of persons with mental illness at work.

Due to the qualitative approach used and small sample selected based on non-probability sampling, generalising the findings to larger populations is heavily cautioned.

Organisations in both private and public sectors should emphasise workplace mental health interventions such as mental health education and awareness, the development and implementation of supportive and flexible policies, and EAPs. These strategies are likely to help destigmatisation efforts and enhance managers’ understanding of mental health and the management of persons with mental illness.

This study provided a rich and in-depth understanding of mental health and illness from the perspective of private and public sector managers in a small developing country in the Caribbean. The Caribbean region possesses a dearth of empirical research concerning issues of mental health and illness at work.

Perinatal mental health (PMH) is acknowledged as a significant public health issue associated with significant personal, family, social and economic burden. Research demonstrates that healthcare practitioners lack knowledge and confidence in this area but there is likely to be a complexity of factors that may influence practitioner behaviours, including negative attitudes towards people with mental health and inaccurate illness perceptions. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Perinatal Illness Perceptions Scale (PIPS), a conceptual derivation of the Illness Perception Questionnaire – Revised.

A cross-sectional and exploratory instrument development design, using exploratory factor analysis, was employed.

The scale demonstrated good psychometric properties revealing three sub-scales: causes, consequences (mother); consequences (baby).

The findings implicate the PIPS as the first robust psychometric measure, which can be used to in the assessment of practitioner knowledge of the causes and consequences of PMH. The PIPS could offer the opportunity to assess these domains within both educational and training context and identify practitioner attitudes which may affect clinical decision making and referral decisions.

The purpose of this study is to develop and test the causal relationships between alcohol consumption, social support, illness perception, fatigue and functional status among persons with liver cirrhosis. The hypothesized model was developed based on the theory of unpleasant symptoms.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 persons with liver cirrhosis by stratified random sampling. Data were collected at outpatient departments from four public hospitals across three regions in Thailand. Six self-report questionnaires were utilized to collect data from March to August 2020. The developed model was verified via a structural equation modeling analysis.

The proposed model fit with the empirical data considering from χ²/df = 2.397 (p = 0.061), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.056, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.985, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.981, and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.048. The model explained 71.30% of the total variance in functional status. Social support was the most influential factor affecting functional status both directly and indirectly through illness perception. Illness perception had a negative direct effect on functional status and a positive indirect effect on functional status through fatigue. Fatigue had a negative direct effect on functional status. Alcohol consumption was found as the lowest influential factor affecting functional status.

This is the first study that explores the characteristics of functional status among persons with liver cirrhosis comprehensively. A causal relationship among various variables found in this study would shed light as important fundamental data for developing interventions to enhance functional status among this population.

The purpose of this study was to investigate diabetes self-care behaviors, stigmatization and A1C as predictors of a negative perception of insulin treatment in insulin-treated type 2 diabetic patients.

A descriptive cross-sectional and relational design was used. The study was carried out in the Diabetes Training Centre and Endocrine and Metabolism Clinic of a university hospital in the southeast of Turkey between May and October 2017. The research sample consisted of 100 type 2 diabetic patients determined by using a convenience sampling method. An introductory information form for type 2 diabetic patients, the Insulin Treatment Appraisal Scale (ITAS), Diabetes Self-Care Activities Survey (DSCAS) and Barriers to Insulin Treatment Scale (BIT) were used to collect the research data. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlations and step wise multi-linear regression.

The number of daily insulin injections, training received about insulin and stigmatization was significant predictors of a negative perception of insulin treatment.

Strategies to decrease diabetic individuals' fear of stigmatization should be utilized to minimize their negative insulin treatment perception (giving diabetic individuals training about diabetes, planning public training to inform society and using mass media tools). Diabetes educators should know that diabetic individuals' perception of the severity of the illness could influence the daily number of injections applied and decrease the negative perception regarding insulin.

The purpose of this paper is to explore illness beliefs among adults with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), studied in a clinical setting in the Indian context. Diabetes management lies primarily in the hands of the patient, which signifies the need for understanding the various dimensions of individuals’ illness beliefs. While past research from abroad has stressed the need for understanding the patient’s perspective in effective illness management, the lack of studies in the Indian context calls for further research in this area.

Drawing on the Self-Regulation Model (Leventhal et al., 1980), semi-structured interviews were carried out to understand the beliefs about diabetes among individuals diagnosed to have T2DM. In total, 70 individuals with T2DM were included, taking into account the disease duration, urban-rural, age and gender distinctions. The data were analyzed using content analysis method.

The results of the analysis revealed numerous sub-themes related to the perceived consequences of diabetes, control or cure issues, timeline and emotional issues as experienced by the subjects.

Carrying out a triangulated research with the various stakeholders, namely, diabetologists, general practitioners and other support staff like dieticians could add more value to this exploratory study.

There is a dearth of research work that explores the illness beliefs that patients’ hold about diabetes, as discussed in the Indian context. It is expected that the insight provided by the study can help the government bodies, healthcare organizations and practitioners design and develop interventions from a patient-centric view. Additionally, such a patient-centric approach will enable individuals to achieve their treatment goals.

While deinstitutionalization has changed how and where those with serious mental illness receive mental health treatment, the high rate of homelessness among those with mental illness, the number of mentally ill incarcerated, and the general inadequacy and underfunded nature of public psychiatric resources suggest an inadequate social reaction to their needs. While United States (US) policies have appeared to deemphasize long-term confinement in hospitals, the author contends that various ideologies maintain a process of social control whereby those with serious mental illness continue to be minimized and disempowered within American society.

The author presents three different ideologies for examination: the “otherness” of mental illness, stigma and social exclusion, and perspectives of dangerousness. These ideologies are hypothesized to limit the social capital and power of those with serious mental illness. Considering Antonio Gramsci’s definition of hegemony and “common sense,” this chapter urges a challenge to these hardened ideologies if those with serious mental illness are to have greater inclusion in US society.

This study aimed to determine mothers' knowledge of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and to examine the relationship between types of CHD, the duration of treatments, the perception of the severity of illness and the mothers' knowledge.

A correlation study was conducted among 84 mothers of children (from infancy to six years old) with CHD who had attended pediatric cardiology clinics and pediatric units in three tertiary hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand. The two questionnaires aimed to evaluate the mothers' knowledge and perceptions of the severity of illness. Descriptive statistics, Spearman's rank-order correlation and Fisher's exact test were used to analyze the data.

Knowledge levels of mothers of children with CHD were at a high level with a mean score of 34.79 (SD = 8.23), but the knowledge domain of preventing complications was at a low level with a mean score of 14.95 (SD = 5.28). The types of CHD and the perceptions of illness were not correlated with the mothers' knowledge, but the duration of treatments was significantly correlated (r = 0.271, p < 0.05).

Healthcare professionals, especially nurses, should emphasize proper health education on complication prevention and the duration of treatments for children. Moreover, mothers should be supported to nurture children with CHD to reduce possible complications and prepare for cardiac surgery where needed.

The purpose of this paper is to create a series of 30-60-second short videos to promote improved food safety behaviors of middle school youth, determine the feasibility of disseminating the videos through peer networks, and measure their effects on food safety attitudes, perceived social norms, and behaviors of youth.

Food safety content specialists, learning experts, programmers, illustrators, project managers, instructional designers, scriptwriters, and stakeholders were involved in creation of the Don’t Be Gross short videos before evaluation by middle school youth (sixth to eighth grades). The experimental group (n=220) completed the following activities at about one-week intervals: pre-test, viewed videos, post-test, and follow-up test. The control group (n=112) completed the same activities at similar intervals but did not have access to the videos until after the follow-up test.

Controlling for grade and gender, linear mixed-effects models revealed significant time by group effects for participants’ perceived susceptibility to foodborne illness; intentions to perform recommended food safety behaviors approached significance. Additionally, compared to the pre-test, the experimental group perceived their friends as being significantly more confident in performing food safety behaviors at post- and follow-up tests. Google Analytics data revealed that the bounce rate from the home page of the videos was low (38 percent) suggesting that the videos were engaging.

The Don’t Be Gross videos were liked by youth and shared among their peers and may have the potential to promote positive food safety behaviors and intentions among youth.